Confessions
by maisey2k10
Summary: Making a confession isn't always easy, but in order for Fred Weasley to win the witch of his dreams he had to summon his Gryffindor courage, scare off her other suitors and bare his soul and heart to the population of Hogwarts, hoping it was enough.


**ONE-SHOT**

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Summary: Making a confession isn't always easy, but in order for Fred Weasley to win the witch of his dreams he had to summon his Gryffindor courage, scare off her other suitors and bare his soul and heart to the population of Hogwarts, hoping it was enough.

Disclaimer: I do not own canon events and characters, they belong to J.K Rowling. I am not making a profit from writing and posting this fanfic.

This was requested by and written for perrywinklekitty.

The accompanying M Rated ONE-SHOT with outtakes and bonus scenes has now been posted.

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Page count: 42

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"What are you staring at?" George Weasley asked his twin brother but he received no reply. "Oi, Freddie," George called, reaching over for a bread roll and chucking it at Fred, finally pulling his attention.

"What was that for?" Fred asked with a scowl. He picked up the bread roll and threw it at George and he caught it easily.

"Ignoring me," he shrugged his shoulders. "What were you staring at so intensely you got distracted in the middle of our conversation?"

"Nothing," Fred said quickly, too quickly to be believable.

"It's confession time," George said in a sing-song voice. He raised an eyebrow and seeing his brother's eyes stray back down the table, George leaned back on the bench and allowed his eyes to wander, trying to see what it was that had caught his brother's attention.

As soon as his eyes landed on the resident Gryffindor bookworm he felt amusement bubble within him and he chuckled, shaking his head lightly.

"Still, Freddie? I thought you would've gotten over this by now."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Fred muttered, avoiding George's gaze.

George snorted. "Nice try, but I know you and I know that face; it's mine." Fred rolled his eyes. "I knew you had a crush on the fiery little witch, but I thought you'd gotten over it since you haven't done anything about it, it's been over a year."

Fred glared at George before throwing a quick Silencing Charm around them to keep anyone from hearing their conversation, because that's just what he needed; the gossip mill of Hogwarts spreading the word that he was head over heels for Hermione Granger.

"So, do you still have a thing for her?" George asked. Fred shrugged his shoulders. "What about Katie?"

Fred frowned in confusion. "What about her?"

"Angie told me that Katie told her that you've been spending time _together_." Fred's face pulled into a grimace. "I guess that's not true then."

"Of course it's not true. Why would you even believe that?"

George shrugged his shoulders. "We may share everything, but we've always been respectful when it comes to each other's love lives. Since you never told me, I assumed it either wasn't serious or you didn't want me to know yet."

"We both know I'd never keep something like that from you, and no, I haven't been spending any time with her. She kissed me at the start of the year and I told her I didn't see her that way, only as a friend. Whatever she's told Angie is a lie and you can tell her that, too. I don't want Katie spreading rumours..." Fred's eyes strayed to Hermione before turning back to George. "Angie's the only one she'll listen to; she's the only one that can get her to stop this behaviour."

"Alright," George shrugged. "I'll let her know as soon as I see her, but what are you going to do?"

"What'd you mean?" Fred asked confused.

"About Granger," George clarified. "It's been over a year and seeing as you still have a crush on her, I don't think it's going to go away any time soon. I'm actually surprised you haven't taken a shot at her yet."

"Your point?"

"She's not going to be single forever, Freddie."

"What'd you mean by that?" Fred said, sitting up taller and narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Exactly that, you're not the only one that's got your eyes on her. I've overheard that she's seemed to have caught Cormac McLaggen's attention, as well as Terry Boot's and even Seamus is interacting with her more than usual. The school's starting to notice, Freddie, she grew up a lot over the summer and she's getting prettier by the day."

Fred glowered at the news and folded his arms over his chest. "She's always been beautiful," Fred protested. George's mouth twitched in amusement.

"My point is, you're not the only one that's interested in her and if you don't do something about it, she may never know your feelings for her and you'll never get the chance to see if you could make something work between the two of you. What are you afraid of?"

"Her perception of me," Fred admitted. "She probably sees me as Ron's big brother, maybe even as family given the way mum and dad treat her."

George sighed. "Freddie, you won't know if you don't take a chance, for all you know she might have a little crush on you, too."

"I doubt it; I'm the exact opposite of what she likes. She likes organisation and punctuality; I'm chaotic and late to everything. I'm not academic and I hate reading, it's practically what she lives for."

George rolled his eyes. "You're focusing on the negatives, not the positives."

"Positives?"

"You're creative, you're funny, you might not care for your grades but you're smart, no one can deny that, not even her. And even though you're the less handsome twin, you're still not bad to look at."

"Oi!" Fred scowled.

George smirked. "And you're forgetting the most important thing."

"And that is?"

"You're a Weasley Twin."

A smile pulled at Fred's mouth. "Say I do make a move on her, what if she turns me down?"

"Oh, would you look at that, Seamus is sitting awfully close to Hermione and she's laughing at something he's said."

Fred's head whipped around so fast he made himself dizzy and his eyes quickly narrowed as he took in the sight of Seamus sitting next to Hermione, leaning in close to her and whispering into her ear. She laughed lightly before batting him away with her hand.

"Told you, Freddie, you're not the only one that's got a thing for her. In fact, she's looking rather lovely this afternoon, maybe I should take a shot at her myself."

"Over my dead body," Fred glared at George and then at Seamus, trying to burn a hole in the back of his head.

The younger wizard, feeling eyes on him, turned to look down the table, immediately catching sight of a furiously glaring Fred. His smile dropped from his face briefly, before he shook his head and turned back to Hermione, his smile reappearing.

"What?" George asked innocently. "I figured it would be a lot better for you if I were to be the one to sweep her off her feet, rather than Seamus, or Boot, or even McLaggen. You know, seeing as you're too chicken to do it."

"I'm not chicken," Fred argued.

"Then prove it, are you really going to let someone steal your witch right from under your nose?" George said with a raised eyebrow.

Fred closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. "No, I'm not, I've waited long enough and it's time to do something about it."

"That's my Freddie, you had me worried. And now's your chance."

George gestured down the table as raised voices could be heard, before Hermione stood from the bench, snapped her book shut, slung her school bag over her shoulder and sent a glare to Ron before storming out of the great hall.

"Good luck," George spoke as Fred was quick to follow behind her, throwing his school bag over his shoulder and following her out of the great hall.

He caught up to her quickly and he was very much aware that she was far from calm. He'd spent the last year quietly observing the little witch and he soon learned her mannerisms and behaviours, giving him an indication of what mood she was in that day. If she had toast with jam for breakfast and a glass of orange juice, he knew she'd slept well and would most likely have a good day. If she ate eggs and sausages for breakfast, she'd follow that with a strong cup of tea and it meant she hadn't slept well and she'd most likely have a bad morning, her day picking up after lunch. He knew that if she carried her books in her arms, she was feeling light and open, but if she carried them pressed against her chest, she was sad or angry and closed off.

Knowing her as well as he did, he recognised the larger steps she took, her back being ramrod straight and she held her book to her chest tightly, her hands clenched into tight fists, all signalling her annoyance and upset. Whatever Ron had said to her had obviously upset her, and he wasn't surprised, his idiot brother was always hurting her.

"Hey, Hermione!" Fred called.

Hermione immediately came to stop and she turned to look over her shoulder, the upset look briefly falling from her face as she blinked at him in surprise. He knew why; he'd never called her by her given name before. He'd surprised her which had been his intentions.

"Everything alright?" He asked, his voice softening as he came to a stop beside her.

Given their height difference she was forced to tilt her head back to keep eye contact with him. His mouth twitched; she was so small in stature, but her powerful magic and fierceness more than enough made up for it, making her seem bigger than she actually was. Being so close to her, he hadn't realised just how small she was, he was at least half a foot bigger than her, maybe even more.

She blinked at him slowly. "Sorry?"

"Are you alright?"

She frowned slightly before shaking her head. "I'm fine, thank you, Fred" she replied, turning and continuing down the corridor.

His mouth twitched at the corners; that was one of the reasons he liked her so much, she could tell him and George apart when no one else could, not even his own mother!

"You're lying to me," he replied, falling into step beside her. "What's my idiot brother done now?"

"What'd you mean?"

"I'm not stupid, Hermione..." She blinked again in confusion. "I know what he's like, so, what's he said to you now? And whatever it is, you shouldn't listen to him. You're worth more than his opinion of you."

"I... Thank you," she said, turning her head to look up at him. "I think I needed to hear that."

He gave her a lopsided grin, making her blink once more.

"You're very welcome; it's always a pleasure to help a beautiful witch." His mouth pulled at the corners when her cheeks darkened and her gaze dropped to the floor. "So, where are you headed?"

"The library, I've a free period and need to add the finishing touches to my history of magic assignment, I've been so busy lately I haven't had time to finish it."

"Oh, I've got a free period, too. Would you mind if I joined you?"

She came to a stop, his words surprising her more than he ever had before. "You want to go to the library?"

He gave her that lopsided smile again. "Yes, I need to research a few charms for some products George and I are working on, maybe you could help me find the books I need? I don't doubt you know the place just as well as Pince," he spoke. She narrowed her eyes at him and he held his hands up in surrender. "I mean no offence, I just know you spend a lot of time in the library and thought you could stop me from wasting half an hour trying to find the books I need."

"Alright then," she said, eyeing him cautiously and she continued with her journey towards the third floor.

"That looks heavy, let me get that for you," Fred said, reaching out for her bag, plucking the strap off her shoulder and placing it on his own, being surprised at how heavy it actually was. Merlin! How didn't she walk with a hunched back?

"You don't have to do that, Fred," she spoke, reaching out to take her bag back from him.

"I know, but I don't want you hurting yourself. Merlin, Hermione, what do you have in here, a boulder collection?" She rolled her eyes at him. "How do you manage to carry this around all day without injuring yourself? Surely you must get back pain?"

"Sometimes," she shrugged her shoulders, reaching out for the bag once more but Fred batted her hands away and then took her book from her, too. "Seriously?"

"Yep," he grinned at her. "I can't be having a beautiful witch such as yourself lugging around such heavy items, what kind of wizard would that make me?"

She blushed again and he felt a smile pull at his mouth. Twice in ten minutes, he thought proudly.

Once they reached the library Fred received a surprised but suspicious look from Madame Pince and he gave her a little wave, causing her to narrow her eyes at him. After telling Hermione what books he wanted, she gave him a look of curiosity and caution and he had to stop himself from laughing; obviously, she knew the kind of magic those books contained.

After she retrieved his books for him quicker than he thought possible, she headed to the back of the library and he followed after her, being surprised when she came to a little nook that held a small warn couch and a small round table with lanterns fitted to the stone walls. He hadn't even known it was there and he was sure others didn't know either.

"This is my little hideaway, it was built after the Marauder's Map was created so it won't show up, no one knows about this place, not even Harry and Ron."

He felt himself smiling at the news; he was the first person she'd shown to her little safe haven, to her place away from the school population which meant she must've had at least some trust in him.

He knew she was comfortable in the hideaway as much to his surprise, she sat on the couch, kicked off her shoes and tucked her feet beneath her as she leaned against the armrest and removed her assignment from her bag, using a book as a rest. He chuckled when she flicked her wand and the three books she'd collected from the shelves for herself levitated in front of her, the books opening to the pages of her choice.

"Are you going to stand there all day?" She asked him, her eyes flittering between the books and her assignment.

Putting his bag down on the ground, he sat himself on the couch beside her -it being so small his leg brushed her feet- and he pulled the table closer to him, making a start on his research.

He didn't know how long it had been but some time later he felt a small hand reach out and touch his shoulder, pulling his attention from the pages in front of him. He turned to look at Hermione, seeing she'd packed away her things and had put her shoes back on.

"Wow, I thought I was bad but you put me to shame," she said amused. "I've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes, I have to go; my Arithmancy lesson starts in fifteen minutes."

He blinked in surprise at the news; had he really been sat there, with his head in a book for just over an hour and without moving, too? Merlin, he'd never done that before. He found it hard to focus for long periods of time, which is one of the reasons he hated reading so much, but being with Hermione, he'd felt calm and relaxed. So much so that he hadn't even realised so much time had passed and so quickly, too.

"Right, I suppose we better go. I'll walk you."

"You don't have to," she responded.

"I'm heading that way anyway," he lied.

He actually had herbology which would put him on the other side of the castle, but he didn't mind being late to his lesson; Sprout was easy to forgive tardiness, especially if you faked interest in one of her prized plants.

He stood from the couch and took Hermione's bag from her before she had chance to shoulder it, and as they made their way out of the library, Fred returned his books seeing as he'd learned everything he needed to know. They walked the majority of the way in silence, Hermione feeling uncomfortable at the stares they received and Fred ignoring them as he pulled Hermione into conversation.

"You know I have to confess, you're not a bad study partner," Hermione commented as they neared her classroom.

"Yeah? Does that mean you'll let me join you in the future?"

Hermione came to a stop outside her classroom and she tilted her head, looking up at him. "I suppose, you do know where my little hiding place is after all," she replied.

He grinned at her as he handed her bag back to her. "I'll see you later, Hermione," he said, turning and walking down the corridor with a slight skip in his step.

Progress had been made.

~000~000~000~

**Three days later...**

Three days later found Fred and George making their way towards the Room of Requirement for the D.A meeting that would be starting in ten minutes. The three days that had past Fred had been careful with his interactions with Hermione, not wanting to be around her so much that she felt suffocated, but being around her enough that she most certainly noticed his presence. When passing in the corridors and seeing each other in the common room he'd send her a smile or a wink, causing her to blush, or when heading in the same direction, he'd leave an amused George behind and walk Hermione to her classroom, taking her bag from her no matter how much she assured him she could carry it herself.

"You should pair with Granger, today?" George suggested.

Fred looked at his brother in surprise; they _never_ duelled or fought separately. Being twins and understanding each other as well as they did, they were able to feed off each other, they knew the other's thoughts and duelling style which made them unbeatable in a duel when together, but it also meant there was never a winner when duelling against each other.

"Why?"

George shrugged. "It gives you chance to spend more time with her, whatever you've been doing over the last few days seems to be working in your favour, she's practically a bloody tomato when you're around."

Fred felt his mouth pull into a smile, glad that he wasn't the only one to notice it and glad that he hadn't been imagining things.

"She'll kick my arse,"

"Probably," George nodded in agreement

"Thanks for your words of encouragement," Fred said.

George shrugged his shoulders. "There's no denying she's a formidable witch, Freddie. You can hold your own against me, but I think she's one of the few people that would be able to take us both on and win. It's impossible to understand the way her brilliant mind works, which makes it harder to outduel her. Just think though, you're putting your body through injuries to make some progress with the little witch."

"It's worth it," Fred nodded.

"Besides, we need a reason to test the Bruise Removal Paste," George commented.

They both checked that they hadn't been followed before the door appeared in front of them and they stepped inside, seeing that almost everyone had already arrived and were talking in little groups.

Not long later everyone was pairing off as Harry walked around the room helping those that needed it. Given that the D.A hadn't been running long, they were still recapping some of the lower year spells and therefore, those above a certain year had already learned them, including himself, George and Hermione, which meant they spent their time duelling for practice.

"Hey, Hermione," he said, making his way over to her.

She turned around to face him, giving him a small smile in greeting.

"Hi, Fred, what can I help you with?"

"Do you wanna be my partner?" He asked her.

Her reaction was expected, she blinked slowly and her mouth parted slightly, her eyes darting off to a point over his shoulder and seeing George and Lee duelling, the latter of the two looking as equally as surprised as Hermione.

"Um, sure," she said, gesturing for him to follow her over to a more quieter area of the room, giving them plenty of space to both spar and talk without anyone overhearing.

"Take it easy on me, yeah?" She blinked in surprise once more and he chuckled. "Come on, Hermione, we both know you can easily kick the arse of everyone in here, what with that brilliant mind of yours."

On cue, her blush made an appearance and she cleared her throat nervously. "Alright then, rules; you obviously can't use The Unforgivables or anything illegal..."

"And do you know any illegal spells, Hermione?" He raised an eyebrow and her blush darkened. "My, my, Miss. Granger, you're full of surprises," he teased and she scowled at him.

"And you can't cast anything you don't know how to heal or counter," she continued as if she hadn't been interrupted.

He nodded and assumed his position and she did the same. They'd barely bowed to one another when she threw a Stinging Hex at him and he cast a shield in response, pouring his magic into it to strengthen it as she shot off six simultaneous spells so fast he could barely keep up. On the fourth spell his shield shattered and he only just managed to duck to the final two.

"You agreed to go easy on me," he said, standing back to his feet and looking both amused and surprised.

"I am going easy on you," she replied. He wasn't sure if that worried him or not. He knew she was good in a fight, he just didn't know she was _that_ good.

Hoping to take her off guard he threw a _Stupefy_ her way and followed that with an _Impedimenta_, both of them being blocked like he expected, before he threw an _Incarcerous_ towards her legs. With a grace and speed that surprised him, she held the shield in place and was able to dodge the Binding Spell with ease.

"I've seen you use that tactic before," she explained to him after seeing his surprise. It had always worked. "I knew to keep an eye out for it," she said, before she threw several spells of her own at him.

It continued in the same fashion for several minutes, parrying back and forth with spells and hexes and dodging and shielding against the others'. It was easy to see they were both tiring and Hermione saw an opening and took it. She hit Fred with two Stunners and followed that with a Stinging and Slicing Hex. His shield shattered under the force and both Hexes caught him in the face.

He let out a sound of surprise and followed it with a wince and Hermione gasped in horror and rushed over to him.

"Merlin, Fred! I'm so sorry," she said, looking truly upset and angry with herself.

He gave her a lopsided grin, despite the stinging in his eye and the cut on his cheekbone. "Don't worry about it, Hermione. It wasn't your fault, I let my shield drop too soon as I didn't see you send those last two hexes my way, I've got to say, non-verbal magic? That's quite impressive."

"I really am sorry, Fred, I didn't mean to hurt you," she said.

"I know, it wasn't your fault," he repeated, bringing his arm up to his face so he could wipe the blood away with the sleeve of his jumper.

"Don't do that," Hermione scolded, reaching out to stop him from touching his injuries. "You'll make them worse, come here," she said, taking his hand in hers and pulling him over to the corner of the room.

Fred looked down at his hand held by her smaller one and his mouth tugged at the corners before he looked over his shoulder to see a surprised Lee staring at him, and George who gave him a thumbs up, not in the least bit worried about his injuries.

He turned his attention back to Hermione and saw a maroon coloured armchair appear and she gestured for him to sit on it, making her taller than him. He felt the loss of her hand when she removed it, but he was soon placated as she gently cupped her hand around his chin and tilted his head this way and that to get a better look at the damage caused, her teeth worrying at her lip and her brow furrowed. It was hard to look away from her.

"Thankfully the Slicing Hex missed your eye, so I can have it fixed up in a jiffy, and the swelling from the Stinging Hex will take a few minutes to go down, afterwards I'll heal the cut," She told him.

She brought her wand up to his face and gently pressed the tip of it just beneath his eye, her brow furrowing in concentration as she muttered the counter curse beneath her breath. It took a few minutes for the swelling to go down and she turned her attention to the cut on his cheekbone, washing away the blood, cleaning the wound and then sealing it, all the while Fred never took his eyes off her.

"There, all done, how does it feel?" She asked, removing her wand and her hand from his face.

"Still stings a little," he shrugged. "But do you know what would make me feel better?"

"What?"

"A kiss," he said, giving her a cheeky smile. "You did nearly kill me after all."

She scoffed. "I don't think so,"

"Alright, maybe I'm over exaggerating a little, blinded me then." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "And for compensation for the trauma I've just faced, I think you should kiss my poor face better."

"And why would you want me to do that?" She asked, looking confused.

"You're a beautiful witch, who wouldn't want a kiss from you?"

She tilted her head to the side. "I can't tell if you're being serious or not," she said before shaking her head. "I'm not kissing you better," she said and he all but pouted at her. She dug her hand into her robe pocket before removing a small paper bag which she held out for him.

He eyed it warily before sticking his hand inside the bag and pulling back with a sugar quill in his hand. He blinked in surprise before a smile pulled at his face. She _never_ shared her sugar quills.

"You sit here and wait for the stinging to wear off, I better go and help Neville," she said, turning on her heel and heading over to the accident-prone wizard.

Not long later found the D.A meeting being over and everyone sneaking out of the room and back to their common rooms.

"Hey, Hermione?" Fred called, moving to catch up with her. "Are you heading to the library?" He asked, falling into step beside her.

"Yes, why?"

"Can I join you?"

"More research for products?" She sounded both curious and disapproving, making him chuckle.

"No, I have a potions essay to work on, Snape's the only one I make sure to have my work done on time for."

"Smart," she nodded.

"So, I'll meet you there? I just have to get my things from my dorm."

"Okay, any books in particular you need? I'll find them out ready for you."

He gave her a wide smile. "You're an Angel," he said, making her blush. He'd grown to like the red colouring on her. After giving her a list of the books he needed, they went their separate ways.

"Oi! George!"

Fred turned to look over his shoulder, seeing a frowning Ron approaching him.

"I'm Fred," he said.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter, what's going on with you and Hermione?"

Fred raised an eyebrow. "Why?" He asked his little brother.

He'd known since day one that Ron had had a crush on Hermione, it being one of the reasons he was so mean to her, you know, a boy pulling a girl's pigtails and all that? But after he'd witnessed Ron's mistreatment of Hermione the year before and knowing that he hadn't done anything to show he cared for Hermione in a way other than friendship, he'd just assumed he no longer had a crush on her.

Ron's hand clenched into fists and his cheeks turned red. "She's my friend, that's why."

Fred tilted his head to the side slightly. "Are you jealous of me spending time with her?"

"No," Ron spat out. "Why would I be, it's just Hermione?"

"Hmmm," Fred hummed thoughtfully. "Not that it's any of your business but I like spending time with her. She's intelligent and..."

"So that's it, you're using her for your homework?"

Fred felt anger of his own build. How dare he think that?

"No, I'm not, unlike some people I actually do my own work," Fred said, barely containing his anger and glaring at Ron. "She may help me find the books I need, but that's it. And if you don't start doing your own work and you don't stop putting pressure on Hermione, I'm going to tell mum."

Ron blinked in surprise at the threat, knowing the twins never threatened any member of the family with their mother, it was always pranks.

"Wait, since when is she Hermione to you?" Ron frowned.

"A while," he shrugged.

"What's going on with you?"

"None of your business, and I think it's best for your health that you stop upsetting Hermione. Whatever you say to her, whatever it is you do to hurt her, stop it, or I'll be forced to take action and I won't be merciful."

Turning on his heel, he left behind his spluttering little brother.

~000~000~000~

**Two weeks later...**

Two weeks later found Fred wandering the castle in search of Hermione, after her having missed their scheduled library visit they'd set up a couple of days before. Knowing Hermione and her dislike for tardiness, he knew something wasn't right and soon went in search of her.

In the last couple of weeks, it was clear Hermione had grown used to him being around her more often and she'd grown comfortable in his presence, though it didn't stop her from blushing when he gave her compliments. The last few weeks he'd spent a good portion of his time running interference, trying to keep the other wizards away from Hermione and George had done his fair share, too; Fred couldn't deny he was a great wingman. He'd been plucking up the courage to ask Hermione out on a date and he'd finally done so and had planned to do it that evening, but she hadn't shown up to the library. In fact, he hadn't seen her since she left the great hall after dinner a couple of hours ago.

He'd already checked the entire library, the common room, asked Hermione's roommates if she were in her dorm and checked the few classrooms he knew she sometimes hid away in, but he hadn't found her. Now he was on his last option, the Room of Requirements, and if she wasn't there he planned on resorting to drastic measures, pulling both Harry and Ron in with the aid of the Marauder's Map.

Coming to a stop at the end of the corridor and making sure he hadn't been followed, he paced back and forth three times, asking for the room Hermione was hidden away in and much to his relief, a door appeared. Stepping into the room, the door disappeared and his eyes took in his new surroundings, a fireplace being on the back wall of the room with lit flames dancing, and there was a plush rug in front of it. Positioned opposite the fire was a comfortable looking couch adorned with cushions, and a wooden coffee table sat in front of it. In the corner of the room, there was a large four poster bed, the bedding being dark in colour, the pillows looking soft and cushions covered most of the bed.

Fred's eyes were instantly drawn to the couch when he heard a noise, but not seeing anything he moved closer, coming to a stop at the side of it. A frown pulled at his face and he felt himself saddening at the sight that met him; Hermione being dressed in white and pink fleece pyjamas and a pair of bunny slippers on her feet, as she laid on the couch curled into a ball with a cushion held tightly against her and her face buried against it, it muffling the sounds of her cries and sniffles.

"Hermione?" Fred said quietly.

He visibly saw her stiffen before she slowly removed her face from the cushion to sneak a look at him, his heart breaking at her red, tear-stained face and her puffy eyes.

"What happened?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," she replied, "How did you find me, what are you doing here?" She asked, pulling herself into a sitting position, crossing her legs and holding the cushion to her chest as she reached up to wipe her tears away.

"You're clearly not fine," he said, moving to sit himself beside her on the couch. "And you didn't meet me at the library like we planned, after ten minutes I knew something wasn't right so I came looking for you, this was my last place to look."

"I forgot," she muttered.

His frown deepened; when did she forget about going to the library?

"What happened?"

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"Confess, Hermione, if I have to I'll question everyone in the castle and I'll start with Ron." He saw her eyes harden, letting him know it was something to do with his idiot little brother. "What's he done now? And if you say 'nothing' I'll resort to dangerous measures in order to extract the truth from you."

Hermione turned to look at the fireplace, her eyes watching the dancing flames. "He just said some things that I didn't appreciate," she said quietly.

"Such as?" He asked. She shrugged her shoulders. "Hermione, whatever he said to you has upset you so much that you've hidden away from everyone and are crying to yourself in your pyjamas."

Her cheeks tinted red. "He asked if I really thought I should have dessert this evening, as I've seemed to have put on some weight."

"He said that?" Fred said, unable to hide his surprise at the sheer stupidity of his younger brother.

"Not only did he say it, but he said it loud enough for the entire school populace to hear," she muttered.

Fred frowned slightly before realisation hit him; he hadn't heard it because he and George had been speaking about the progress of some of their products and they'd done so under a Silencing Charm, not wanting anyone to overhear them, especially Umbridge, who was proving to be a pain in their arses for more than just one reason.

"There's nothing wrong with your weight, Hermione," Fred spoke.

"I know that, I'm average weight for someone of my height," she said. "But that doesn't stop what he said from hurting my feelings, and it's not going to stop Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins from insulting me, not only on my appearance, blood status and work ethics, but now my weight, too."

Fred scowled, he'd make sure nothing would come of Ron's insensitive comment and he'd get George's help, too. He had a long night ahead of him.

"Hermione, he's a prat,"

"I know he is," she replied. "But he's also supposed to be my best friend and lately he's been acting like he hates me, like I'm not good enough to be around him."

"More like the other way around," Fred muttered.

"And while his comments hurt me, what hurts me more is how insensitive he is to me towards this time of the month."

"Meaning?" He asked confused. She cocked an eyebrow and understanding soon followed. "Oh, right, _that_ time of the month."

She tilted her head slightly, seeing that his facial expression hadn't once changed, neither had his body language and he sat perfectly still, looking comfortable.

"You're not embarrassed?" She asked, sounding surprised.

"Why would I be?"

She frowned. "Ron and Harry certainly are."

"It's a normal thing women have to deal with. They need to grow up," he shrugged his shoulders.

"I know they do," she sighed. "I mean, I deal with cramps, backache, headaches, nausea and swollen feet, as well as bloating, which is why Ronald so kindly pointed out that I was fatter than I was last week. The last thing I need is him being insensitive and making fun of me for something that is beyond my control."

He titled his head slightly. "How are you feeling now?"

"Do you care?"

"Yes," he answered honestly.

She eyed him carefully before answering. "Not too bad, I suppose. My back hurts no matter how many Pain Relief Potions I have in my system and if I take anymore, I risk putting myself in the hospital wing."

"Do you want me to give you a massage?"

"What?" She blurted out, turning to look at him with wide eyes.

"I remember dad used to do it for mum when I was little, it used to help ease the pain. Your backache might not actually be a symptom of your menstrual cycle, but from carrying around your school bag and heavy books all day."

"I..."

"I don't bite, Hermione," he said amused, seeing her cheeks darkening. "Come on, turn around," he said, motioning with his index finger for her to do so.

"But..."

"It might help ease the pain, what have you got to lose?" He raised an eyebrow.

She cleared her throat before she put the cushion she was holding off to the side and she turned around so her back was to him and she was facing the wall. He shifted on the couch, moving closer to her and getting himself more comfortable while making it easier to complete his task of helping to ease her pain and discomfort.

The moment he brushed her hair over one shoulder and he settled his hands on her shoulders, he felt her stiffen beneath him. He set to work easing the knots and aches out of her shoulders with Hermione sitting ramrod straight, her body tensing more as each minute went past.

"Relax, Hermione," he chuckled. "This is going to be pointless if you don't."

Despite his words, she didn't, not until he reached the junction of her shoulder and neck and he found a particularly large knot. As he worked at it with his fingers, a soft sigh left Hermione and he felt her body relax, her posture slouching slightly. It took a little while to remove the knot and then he moved to the other side, repeating the process.

"Is it helping?"

"Yes," she admitted quietly.

She moved to get herself more comfortable, pulling her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and then leaning forward to rest her forehead against her knees, exposing the back of her neck to him. He soon moved to attend to it, placing his thumbs on either side of her spine and dragging them downwards and a sigh sounded from her, pulling a smile to his mouth.

"If you have back pain next month and Pain Potions aren't helping, tell me and I'll give you a massage. In fact, even if you just have a backache from carrying around your bag and books all day, just let me know."

"You don't have to do that, Fred."

"I know, but if I can make your life a little easier, then I will. It's the least you deserve; you're a Saint for putting up with Ron. I don't know how you do it, George and I spend most of our time avoiding him when at The Burrow, even during our childhood he was a pain in the arse, it's one of the reasons we pranked him so much."

"Is it true you turned his teddy bear into a spider, and that you locked him in a cupboard?"

"Yeah," Fred said proudly.

"How'd you do that at such a young age?"

"Accidental magic. We hadn't intended for it to happen, but it was hilarious when it did. I remember we were just talking about how funny it would be if Ron's bear suddenly transformed into a spider, and then it just happened."

"Even your magic knew you were born to be pranksters," Hermione commented.

His hands stilled momentarily, having heard the lack of disapproval in her tone.

"I thought you hated our pranks," he said.

"When have I ever said I hated your pranks?"

"All the time, you're always giving George and me disapproving looks or threatening to tell our mum."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't hate your pranks, Fred, I just think there's a time and place for them. Doing them in the common room or during the holidays, fair enough, but when you do them during lesson times you're disrupting the learning of others, and for those students that already have difficulty with focusing, it only makes it harder on them. And I don't approve of you conning first years into testing your products, they're too young and naive; they have no idea what you and George are capable of."

"So you _don't_ hate our pranking?" He asked both surprised and pleased.

"I don't hate your pranking," she confessed. "If I'm being honest, I think you're brilliant."

"You do?"

"Hmm, of course I do, I've always known you were creative and you obviously had to have some talent for spell casting and spell creation giving what some of your products are capable of, but after seeing the books you've been reading, I now understand that you're far more intelligent than I or other people realise. I doubt I would be able to do what you do."

"You're the smartest person at Hogwarts," he brushed off her compliment, feeling himself squirm a little in his seat and feeling nervous.

"I'm not, there's plenty people smarter than me, and you're one of them. What I've realised over the years is that exams and tests are unable to get a true measurement of your intelligence. Take Dean Thomas for example, he's not a bad student when it comes to doing practical work, but when it comes to doing theory, writing essays and taking exams, he panics and due to his panic, he barely passes. I know for a fact he knows everything as I helped him study. Some people handle the pressure well and others don't," she shrugged her shoulders. "There's different types of intelligence, such as academic, musical, social and creative. I fall under academics; you and George would be creative and maybe even social, too. You're a lot more comfortable in social situations than I am since I was an only child and I was excluded from others when I was in my muggle school. They found me odd and would bully me for the fact I liked to read and strange things would happen around me."

"Anyway, my point is that you're incredibly intelligent and whilst I don't approve of your pranking of the first years or carrying out pranks during lesson times, I can see the creativity, hard work and effort you put into them, and for that, I can't help be impressed by you."

He didn't know how to respond, being too surprised to actually form words. Hell, he couldn't wait to see George's reaction when he revealed what Hermione had told him, he was sure his twin would have dragons and then later try to convince her to help them with their new products; her knowledge would be invaluable.

Shaking his head, he moved his hands lower, towards the middle of her back and worked at her spine and sides, trying to think of something to say.

"Confession time," Fred said.

"Hmmm?" Hermione hummed, sounding half asleep.

"It's something George and I say to each other when we know there's something we need to get off our chests. So, Hermione, it's time to make a confession."

"About what?"

"Anything, it can be about anything, but it has to be something no one else knows."

"What about you? Anything you reveal George already likely knows."

"That's true, but that doesn't count as he's my twin. No one else but George will know something I may reveal to you, not any of my other siblings or my parents. So, what do you have to confess to, Miss. Granger?"

She fell silent for a moment and he could practically hear her mind deciding whether or not she could reveal her secrets to someone else.

"I've never told anyone this before but..." Fred leaned in closer in anticipation. "I hate history of magic."

He leaned back and blinked in surprise. Well, he hadn't expected that. He'd expected something far more interesting, but he shook his head. Well, he'd take it as a warm-up confession.

"Aren't you always arguing with Ron over the importance of the subject?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow and moving his hands a little lower on her back.

"Yes," she sighed, leaning forward a little more to give him better access to her lower back. "I do think learning the history of the Wizarding World is important, it allows us to better understand what those before us had to go through, what they had to sacrifice to a build a better world, to build the world we now live in. It allows us to learn of past mistakes so they can't be repeated. But I hate it. Professor Binns is the most boring teacher I've ever had the displeasure of being taught by, it's so hard for me to stay awake during the class and I won't give Ron the satisfaction of falling asleep."

"Well, that's not what I was expecting," he admitted. "But given your love for academics and learning, I can see why you would be hesitant about telling someone of your hate for a subject."

"Well, it's your turn."

"I confess, when I was thirteen I pranked George and blamed it on Charlie."

"Wait, what?" She questioned, her voice showing her surprise. "Since when do you prank each other?"

"_Never_, which is why I never told George it was me. To this day he still doesn't know it was me."

"What did he do for you to break your number one rule?"

"My voice broke before his did and he found it hilarious and spent an entire week making fun of me, until his voice broke soon after. So, I pranked him and seeing as we had a bit of a prank war going on with Charlie at the time, he automatically got the blame."

"Merlin, I don't even know how to respond to that."

He chuckled at her. "Don't be revealing my secret to anyone, especially George, he'll cry and scream betrayal from the rafters for a month," he said. Hermione laughed at him, the sound being soft and musical and a smile pulled at his mouth. "Your turn,"

She fell silent again, mulling over her next response.

"I confess, my relationship with Viktor wasn't exactly what I led people to believe."

His hands stilled on her back and he felt his breathing stop before he remembered he needed oxygen to live and he took a deep breath.

"Meaning?" He asked, unsure if he actually wanted to hear the answer or not.

She shrugged her shoulders. "After seeing Ron's reaction to my being Viktor's date to the Yule Ball and seeing the response it got from the media as well as the students, we thought it best to keep it quiet."

"Keep what quiet?"

"That it wasn't just a friendship between us. He was my boyfriend."

In surprise, Fred's hand fell from her back completely and he blinked several times, trying to process the news. Lifting her head from her knees, she looked over her shoulder at him for the first time in nearly half an hour.

"You alright?" She asked, frowning in worry.

Taking a deep breath, he nodded. "Fine," he cleared his throat. "So you and Viktor were together?" He asked. She nodded. "Are you still together now?" He questioned, needing to know and hoping to Merlin, Circe and the Founders that she was single.

He'd been half in love with her for over a year now and after plucking up the courage to finally do something about it, after spending all his time running interference with her other admirers and planning his next steps, he hoped it hadn't all been for nothing.

"No," she shook her head.

Fred would swear he had never felt so relieved in his life and he hoped she hadn't noticed it in his expression or in the way his entire body relaxed back into the couch. She turned back around and away from him and he brought his hands back to her back, continuing where he'd left off.

"After the Yule Ball, when Ron and I had the argument, Viktor found me and it took him a while to calm me down and once he did, he asked me to be his girlfriend. Given Ron's reaction and Viktor's celebrity status, we both wanted to keep our relationship quiet; me wanting to avoid more conflict with Ron and Viktor wanting to protect me from the press and his fans. It was hard to spend time together but we made it work. When it came to the end of the year, I made the decision to end our relationship. As much I cared for him I had to be realistic about our chances of remaining together. He had to go home to Bulgaria, graduate Durmstrang and return to the Vrasta Vultures. His life would've never been accommodating of me no matter how hard we may have tried."

"Did you love him?"

"I cared for him very much, adored him really, but I don't think I did. When he left to go home, I didn't feel devastated or lost without him. I didn't feel like my life was coming to an end or that I would never be happy again. I suppose I missed him for a little while, but I think that may have been because he was around me so often I'd grown used to his presence. It's like how I miss Harry and Ron when I'm at home with my parents," she shrugged her shoulders.

Well, that was a relief, he thought; now he didn't have to worry about being compared to her ex-boyfriend.

"How'd you sneak around without anyone finding out?"

"With difficulty, but I think Harry suspected and he kept Ron distracted when I disappeared, and I know Viktor's friends knew about our relationship so they helped us, too. We mostly spent a lot of time in the library."

His hands stilled once more.

"In your hiding place?"

"No," she shook her head. "I meant what I said when I told you I had only ever shown you where it was." He felt a wide smile pull at his face. "Before we started dating, Viktor used to follow me to the library and watch me whilst I studied and I didn't want to risk him following me there. As I said, we spent a lot of time together and sometimes I just needed some time to myself and I didn't want him finding me, so I never told him about it."

Fred couldn't help feeling very pleased and very smug at that moment.

Hermione let out a sigh and she shuffled forward, giving him better access to the small of her back. A chuckle left him and slowly his slipped his hands underneath her fleece jumper, his hands splaying on her hips. He waited for her to voice her disapproval and she never so he placed his thumbs on the dimples on the small of her back and dragged them outwards towards her hips, a muffled groan falling from her lips.

"Your turn to make a confession," she said, sounding sleepy.

Fred didn't speak and he was glad Hermione remained silent, allowing him time to gather his thoughts and courage. He'd decided he was going to confess his feelings for her, but first, he had to convince himself to do it.

"I confess," he started softly, nervously. "That I wish to ask you a question." He took a deep breath. "Hermione, will you..." A light snore caught his attention and his words trailed off.

His eyes moved to her shoulders, seeing the way they moved up and down with a rhythmic pattern. She'd fallen asleep!

He shook his head, a slight laugh of disbelief falling from his lips. He'd taken so long to gather the courage to finally ask her out that she'd fallen asleep. Some Gryffindor he was. Despite that, he chose to look at the positives. She's felt so comfortable with him that she'd fallen asleep in his presence, allowing him to see her at her most vulnerable. He'd take it as a win.

Removing his hands from her hips, he stood from the couch and walked over to the bed, drawing back the covers and moving the cushions out of the way. He made his way back over to the couch before bending down to lift Hermione into his arms, being careful not to jostle her too much that she woke. Carrying her over to the bed, he set her down on the soft mattress, removed her slippers and covered her with the duvet.

He watched her for a few moments, seeing her peaceful and relaxed state before he left her alone and stepped out of the room, his intended destination being the Gryffindor common room to search for his twin.

He had a lot of planning to do in order to keep the Slytherins from making fun of Hermione, and he had a special project to complete for his dear little brother. He'd warned him not to upset Hermione, and Ron hadn't listened so he was going to learn that it was a mistake.

It was a good job it was Friday night and they had no classes in the morning; it was going to be a very long night.

~000~000~000~

**Four days later...**

Four days later found Fred coming down the steps of the boy's staircase and stepping into the common room, an annoyed expression pulling at his face when he saw Hermione curled up on an armchair by the fire with a book in her hand, and Seamus Finnegan, Ron and Harry sitting on the couch opposite her. Seamus was leaning over in an attempt to be closer to Hermione as he said something to her which he followed with a wink and Hermione laughed lightly and shook her head.

He'd thought he'd already taken care of Finnegan! Merlin knows he'd already scared off both Terry Boot and Cormac McLaggen and the latter hadn't been easy, but Seamus was proving to be a pain in the arse.

"I've got your back, o'twin of mine," George came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder.

George stepped around him and dramatically bounded over to Hermione, pushing the little table out of the way and dropping to the ground on one knee, holding his hands to his chest in a begging gesture and fully pulling her attention away from Seamus.

"Oh Hermione, the beautiful Goddess of Knowledge, Wisdom and Riotous Curls, please o'please will you help a mere mortal wizard? I beg of you, impart on me some of your wisdom."

Hermione gave him a look of amusement. "Try using poppy seeds rather than sunflower seeds, substitute fairy wings for pixie wings and use soap shavings over candle wax."

Fred watched his brother blink slowly before a wide smile pulled at his face; he jumped up from the ground and leaned over, grabbing onto Hermione and hugging her tightly.

"You beautiful witch, that's brilliant!" George exclaimed, pressing a kiss to Hermione's forehead, pulling back from her and running back over to Fred. "Marry her!" George exclaimed, but he was sure to do it quietly enough so no one else but him would hear.

He clapped Fred on the shoulder and ran past him up the stairs, his intended destination being their dorm room where they had a large cauldron stashed in the corner of the room.

George's disturbance had caused enough chaos that Hermione had soon gone back to her book and Seamus was trying to get her attention once more. Scowling, he slipped his hands into his pockets and calmly walked over to Hermione, stopping by her armchair and a warm smile settling on his face when he saw which book she was reading. _Hogwarts, a History_; he should've known.

"Hey, Hermione," he said.

She looked away from her book and gave him a smile, his own smile widening in response at seeing her looking genuinely happy to see him.

"Hi, Fred,"

"How are you feeling? Any cramps, backache?" He heard rather than saw Ron, Seamus and Harry all shift on the couch.

"No more cramps, thank Merlin," she responded.

"Backache?"

"A little," she admitted.

Without another word, Fred surprised everyone when he climbed up onto the armchair behind her, sitting himself on the back of it and his feet resting on the cushion. He reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders and started to work at the knots she'd quickly rebuilt. Hermione let out a sigh and his mouth twitched, feeling pleased when she leaned back against his legs to get more comfortable and she returned her attention to her book.

Fred was more than aware of the surprised stares he was receiving, and he looked to the three younger wizards opposite him.

"Have you done something to your hair, Ron? It looks different," Fred said innocently, bringing attention to the fact Ron's hair was now a hideous green colour. It being hideous because it was Slytherin green. His eyebrows had changed, too, now being silver in colour. It was his revenge for Ron upsetting Hermione, and he'd gotten a great laugh out of it that morning at breakfast, as had Hermione which he was most happy about.

Ron glared at him, refusing to answer and Hermione looked up from her book, her eyes flittering between him and Ron, a curious, suspicious look entering her eyes. He gave her an innocent smile and she narrowed her eyes at him before shaking her head and turning back to her book.

"You're sure you're alright?" Fred asked.

"Yes, my period was over a few days ago, I'm good for the next twenty-seven days."

"Merlin, Hermione, do you have to talk about it!" Ron said, looking disgusted, his face a confusing shade or white-red.

Fred beat Hermione to a response. "Grow up, Ron," Fred snapped, surprising everyone close enough to have heard. "It's a witch's period; talking about it is not going to kill you. It's a normal thing that occurs to every witch and allows for the growth of the wizarding population. It's not a witch's fault she has to suffer with bad stomach cramps, or backache and nausea, or even bloating, making them appear to have put on weight when they haven't," he said, making Ron's eyes widen and his gaze flickered between him and Hermione in surprise. "And when a witch is suffering from such symptoms, you should do your best to help make things easier for her. Hermione has enough to deal with without you making her feel bad for something she has no control over, for something that's normal. Stop being an arsehole and grow up, if you don't I'll make sure mum has the Dragons and Hippogriffs talk with you, Bill's told me it's left him traumatised."

It was clear that the entirety of the common room had heard Fred's speech and both witches and wizards stared at him in silence. Ignoring them all, he turned his eyes to Hermione who was looking at him over her shoulder, her eyes wide and her mouth hung open. It was the most shocked he'd seen her.

"So, Hermione, I was wondering if I could pick that wonderfully big brain of yours," Fred said. Hermione pulled herself together and closed her mouth, about to respond but he beat her to it. "Not now, of course, I can see you're busy reading, how about tomorrow over breakfast? I'll meet you in the common room and we can head down together."

She raised an eyebrow. "You do know I'm always the first one in the great hall, don't you?"

"Of course, so I'll meet here at eight o'clock?"

"Seven," she corrected. "The great hall doors open at seven for students."

"They do? Since when?"

"Since forever," she said amused.

He frowned. That meant he had to set his alarm for an hour earlier, he supposed he'd better go to bed early that night.

"Right, seven o'clock on the dot. I won't be late."

"You're late to everything; it's one of your talents."

"I won't be late," he promised. He'd make sure he'd be the one waiting for her tomorrow morning.

~000~000~000~

**One week later...**

"Hey, Fred, wait up!"

Fred came to a stop, looking over his shoulder and a smile coming to his face when he saw Hermione quickly making her way towards the edge of the pitch where the Gryffindor team were taking their places, waiting for them to be announced for the first game of the season.

George gave him a subtle thumbs up before attracting the attention of the rest of the team, encouraging them to keep moving forward and Fred was more than aware of the less than pleased look Katie Bell sent towards Hermione.

Hermione stopped in front of him. Her cheeks were lightly flushed, her breathing a little heavier than normal, her hair windswept and her nose red from the cold and she was bundled up in her cloak and a knitted hat and scarf.

"Here to give me a good luck kiss?" He asked her cheekily.

"What? No, of course not. You don't need luck, I know you're going to smash it, you always do."

He felt himself stand taller and puff his chest out in pride.

"I found this," she said.

She pulled out a rather large, rather old looking book that he'd never seen before from beneath her robe and she opened it to the bookmarked page before turning it around for him to see. He allowed his eyes to drop down, seeing the coloured sticky note marking out the section she wanted to show him and after quickly reading it over, his eyes widened and his mouth pulled into a smile. It was a playing strategy specifically designed for beaters, one that he'd never seen or heard of before, let alone tried himself. Not only would that give them an advantage over the opposing team, but it was really easy to pull off, too. He and George could probably get it on their first attempt.

"You beautiful little witch!" Fred exclaimed, reaching out and pulling her into a hug so tight it knocked the breath out of her. "You're brilliant!" He complimented, pulling back from her, dropping a kiss to her cheek before turning and running off to tell George the good news.

~000~000~000~

It had been a long game of three hours, his fingers and face so numb he could barely feel them, his arms and hands aching from his grip on his bat and beating away the bludgers, and his legs were sore from having been on his broom for so long, but it was all worth it. They'd won.

As soon as he lowered himself to the ground and the Gryffindors were invading the pitch to celebrate with the team, he found himself behind pulled into a hug by an extremely excited Hermione. He laughed before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her to him more firmly, burying his cold nose against her hair and allowing her scent of jasmine and lemons to fill his nose.

"That was brilliant. I told you that you didn't need luck. You were brilliant. I'm so proud of you!" Hermione exclaimed.

Fred found it very difficult to let her go when she pulled back from him, but he was soon smiling again when she bounced up on her tiptoes, pressing a kiss to his cold cheek with her warm, soft lips before she turned and left him to go in search of Harry and Ron.

Fred knew it. He was smitten and he couldn't wait any longer. He had to have her. She had to be his.

~000~000~000~

**Two weeks later...**

Two weeks later had Fred spending as much time as possible with Hermione. He'd been studying with her in the library three nights a week and eating breakfast with her almost five mornings a week, and he'd even managed to sit with her for lunch and dinner once or twice. He'd partnered with her in the D.A meetings a total of four times, granted she still beat him in a duel every time but he was wising up to her tricks and each duel lasted longer than next. He'd accompanied her on walks through the castle and since the snow had made an appearance with it being late November, moving into early December, he'd even managed to pull her into a snowball fight. She'd won after bewitching the snowballs to follow him around. He'd been trying to convince her to teach him that trick for days now but she was holding strong.

He'd never put so much effort into going after a witch before, but Merlin did he know she was worth it.

The more time he spent with her, the more he fell for her, and the more he realised she was perfect for him. Perfect for him in every way. With her smaller size and frame, she fit against him perfectly and with her intelligence and wit, she kept him on his toes. Where she was punctual and well put together and organised, he was tardy and chaotic. They had their similarities and their differences, and it worked for them. All he had to do was get her to see that and he planned on doing so that evening.

He'd cornered Hermione in the common room and convinced her to bundle up warm as he wished to show her something on the castle grounds.

"Where are you taking me?" Hermione asked him, pulling her cloak around herself tighter and ducking her head down a little.

"It's a surprise," he smiled at her.

They soon reached the Black Lake and Hermione give him a cautious look, making him laugh. He shook his head and reached out for her hand, his courage growing as she didn't protest or try to pull back from him.

He led her around the lake and soon they came to a collection of trees she'd never noticed before. Fred smiled at her and brushed aside the thick bushes, revealing an opening in the trunk of the tree, certainly large enough for a person to fit through.

Looking curious, she stepped inside and into the darkness being unable to see anything. Fred gave her hand a squeeze before he led her down a staircase formed of mud, leaves and vines and a bright glow soon appeared, piquing Hermione's interest. Fred had been hunched over due to the low ceilings but once they came to a doorway and stepped through, the ceiling was soon as high as the great hall's and they were bathed in warmth and light.

A gasp left Hermione as she took in the sight that met her. It was like some mystical, underground lair. In the centre of the room sat a large table that had a single chair and it was easy to see they'd both been handmade. A small, single bed was off in the corner of the room and although it looked messy and unmade, it looked like it hadn't been slept in for years. On the wall to the left was a series of bookcases, and spying some of the titles from where she stood, she knew them to be very old, too. Most of the books were covered in a thick layer of dust but were surprisingly well kept and she had a feeling that she wouldn't find anything on the shelves that had been published since the turn of the century, probably even before that.

Hearing a light buzzing sound Hermione's head tilted up, a soft gasp falling from her lips as she saw that above their heads were thousands and thousands of fairies flittering about, their little wings moving so fast her eyes could barely see them moving.

Fred's mouth pulled into a smile at her reaction. She turned to look at him, her eyes wide and alight with wonder.

"I found this place a few years ago; I think this used to be the living quarters for the care of magical creatures professor back in the 1800s. It doesn't show on the map because it's too far underground. I don't know how long they've been here," he gestured above them, "But given the amount of them I'd say it's been a few decades at least."

"What are we doing here? Why did you show me this place?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "You allowed me into the sanctuary of your hideaway; I thought I'd show you mine. This is where I come when I need time alone, to sort through my thoughts or if I hit a bit of a snag in product development. No one knows about this place, not even George."

Hermione blinked at him slowly and then turned her eyes upwards, watching the fairies once more. Stepping closer to her, he positioned himself behind her so his chest hit her back and he heard her breath hitch. Feeling a smile pull at his face, he reached down for her hand, holding it up with her palm facing upwards.

"What are you doing?" She asked quietly.

"Watch," he replied in a mutter, his breath tickling her skin as he lowered his head to speak into her ear.

It wasn't a long wait as soon a single fairy flittered down to them, looking directly into his eyes and he gave the little being a nod of encouragement, knowing the fairy would trust him, and it lowered itself onto Hermione's hand, its weight being so light she would barely feel it.

A gasp of surprise left Hermione and she remained perfectly still as the little fairy titled its head to the side, regarding her carefully.

"How's this possible?" Hermione whispered.

"I've been coming here since I was thirteen, they know me and they trust me. At first, they were wary of me seeing as I had technically invaded their territory but they grew used to my presence after a while."

Silence fell upon them until a second fairy flittered down to them, landing on Hermione's open palm and watching the other fairy intensely.

"They're lovers," Fred whispered into her ear, her breath hitching in response. "She's Princess Luparia, the daughter of the Fairy King, Nebula, and he reigns over the fairies that reside on the east side of the Forbidden Forest and on Hogwarts' grounds. The other fairy, that's Aphid, he's a servant to the Princess and they've been in love since they were children, but the Princess is promised to the Fairy Prince Diaspro of the west side of the Forest."

"That's so beautifully sad," she said quietly, watching the way the two fairies seemed to flitter about each other as if they were dancing.

"The King has forbidden them from being together. The last time I was here, they were planning on running away together. Princess Luparia was going to give up her title and it would be passed onto her younger sister, Princess Salle, who would then be expected to marry Prince Diaspro."

"How do you know all this?"

"She told me, Princess Luparia. She was the first one to approach me and she soon learned to trust me. I guess you could say we formed a bond. I didn't know fairies were capable of understanding the human language until she spoke to me. Only those born of royal blood are able to communicate with humans, and she told me about her life."

"That's incredible," Hermione whispered, not wanting to disturb the two fairies that were flittering about on her hand and never once did they take their gaze away from each other. She frowned when the two fairies suddenly sprung apart as if they'd been stung and they both flew off, mixing back in with the others above them.

"King Nebula must've returned and they didn't want to be caught together," Fred explained, not removing his hand from hers even after she'd lowered it back down to her side.

"It's beautiful here, thank you for trusting me enough to share it with me," she said, her eyes searching for King Nebula, but there were so many fairies and they were so small that she couldn't identify him even if she knew what he looked like.

"It's my safe haven, and now it can be yours, too."

"Thank you," she said, giving him a smile and looking at him over her shoulder.

In that moment, there was something about Hermione that made her irresistible to him. Maybe it was her bright eyes, maybe it was the glow of the fairies bathing her skin, maybe it was the flush in her cheeks or her soft smile, but in that moment he really wanted to kiss her, so he threw caution to the wind and leaned down, pressing his mouth against hers.

She pulled away from him almost immediately with wide eyes and a confused frown on her face, taking a step away from him when he took a step towards her.

"Why did you bring me here, Fred?" She asked him, narrowing her eyes at him and crossing her arms over her chest protectively. "Why didn't you bring Katie here?"

He frowned. "Why would I do that?"

"You're together, right?"

"What? Merlin, no! We're not together, I swear it. Where'd you hear that?"

"She was telling girls in the common room that you were."

Fred sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Hermione, she's lying. At the begging of the school year, she kissed me and I told her I only saw her as a friend. Angie told George what she's been saying and I told him the truth. Angie promised she'd get Katie to stop spreading the rumours."

"What about Claire Foy? Meredith White? Laura Geoffries? They all say you broke their hearts."

Fred rolled his eyes, which he probably shouldn't have done as her eyes narrowed into slits.

"Hermione, I've never been in a relationship with any of them. They came onto me and I rejected them, so they tell people that I'm the one that hurt them, that I'm the one to blame. I have no reason to lie to you."

"Not unless you want something from me. But I'm not falling for it, Fred. Not a chance in hell."

Hermione shoved past him and ran back up the stairs and out onto the grounds.

"Hermione! Wait!" He called after her, but she didn't stop.

He knew there was no point in chasing after her. He let out a noise of frustration and ran his hand through his hair. Well, he'd gone and screwed that up spectacularly, hadn't he?

"Bloody hell," he muttered.

He had to fix it. He couldn't let her get away from him, not now.

~000~000~000~

**The next day...**

"I've got to say, I'm impressed," George said, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and watching Fred as he stood in front of the mirror, fixing his school tie and trying to make his hair look less messy.

"With?" Fred muttered, untying his tie and tying it again nervously.

"Hermione, I've never seen a witch have you so out of sorts. And she's certainly made you work for it. She's got you wrapped around her little finger and she doesn't even know it. I never thought I'd see the day," George shook his head.

Fred turned his eyes to George. "Since when do you call her Hermione?"

George shrugged. "Since she's soon going to be your girlfriend, I suppose."

"I'm nervous," Fred admitted.

"Why?" George asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Wouldn't you be if the roles were reversed?"

George nodded, conceding his point. "Probably, but you're a Weasley Twin. I've seen the way she looks at you; you've got nothing to worry about. So, let's go. I heard Umbridge was having a meeting with Dumbledore this morning so at least she won't be present to give you a detention."

Taking a deep breath, Fred slipped on his robes and grabbed his school bag before they both left their dorm room, walking out of the common room and to the great hall. When they stepped inside, it was packed full of students and professors as he knew it would be. He'd deliberately been later than usual to allow for the maximum number of witnesses to his plan. It occurred to him that what he was about to do had just as much chance of backfiring than it did helping him, but he had to take the chance.

His eyes immediately fell to Hermione, sitting at the Gryffindor table with her head being propped up against her hand and her eyes staring down at the bowl of porridge in front of her as she absentmindedly stirred it with a spoon. He'd never seen her have porridge for breakfast before so he was unsure of how she was feeling, which just made him all the more nervous.

"Go get her, Freddie," George said, clapping him on the shoulder and taking his bag from him as he took a seat at the table.

Taking a deep breath, Fred started down the great hall and being more than aware of the eyes that followed him as he headed for the head's table.

"Mr. Weasley?" McGonagall questioned, eyeing him suspiciously when he came to a stop in front of her.

"I'm really sorry, Professor. I've no doubt you're going to give me a detention for what I'm about to do, but I would really appreciate it if you did so after I've gotten this off my chest," Fred spoke, and before she could respond, Fred hoisted himself up onto the table, standing in the centre of it and turning to face everyone.

His nerves only doubled seeing everyone staring at him and the hall fell silent, there being no need to get everyone's attention as he'd done so the moment he'd climbed atop the table.

"Mr. Weasley!" McGonagall exclaimed unhappily but he ignored her.

"Right," Fred cleared his throat and did his best not to fidget. His eyes strayed to George and he gave him an encouraging thumbs up, before he searched for Hermione, instantly getting locked in her wide-eyed gaze. "It's come to my attention there's been a few rumours going around and I'd like to address them. First of all, I have never had a relationship or been involved with Claire Foy, Meredith White, Laura Geoffries or Katie Bell." Whispers broke out but he ignored them, keeping his gaze locked on Hermione's. "And lastly, I wish to make a confession."

From across the room, he saw the way Hermione's face suddenly paled, her looking as though she might pass out.

"I confess, that I, Fred Weasley, fancy the pants off Hermione Granger."

The whispers grew louder and eyes darted between them and Fred was very much aware of Hermione's growing embarrassment, her pale face flushing bright red and she glared daggers at him, her hair seeming to frizz up as her magic crackled around her. He opened his mouth and she shook her head furiously, but he had to say it. He had to make her believe him.

He turned to address the rest of the hall. "No, this is not a prank or a joke. I'm being serious," Fred said. "The truth is I've been slowly falling for her for the last year, ever since she so smugly told me that my plan to break through the age wards surrounding the Triwizard Cup would fail, even before I'd attempted it. And as always, she was right. And standing here right now in front of you all, I can safely and confidently say..." He turned to look at Hermione. "Hermione, I'm in love with you."

The great hall chorused with the noises and exclamations of surprise and students talked over each other to be heard, even the professors seemed to be shocked by his confession, whispering between themselves and their eyes darting between him and Hermione.

He saw she was ready to bolt and so he jumped down off the table and followed after her as she stood from the Gryffindor table and ran out of the great hall. It didn't take him long to catch her, reaching out and snagging her hand in his and gently tugging, pulling her to a stop. She spun around to face him, her embarrassment and anger being palpable.

He could feel he was about to be lectured and so he ducked his head down, pressing his mouth against hers and silencing her before she had even spoken. He pulled back from her, seeing her eyes being wide in surprise and the anger and embarrassment being replaced with confusion and disbelief at what he'd just done.

"I meant it, Hermione. Everything I said was the truth, I do love you and I have fancied you since last year. I'm sorry that I embarrassed you, but it was the only thing I could think of that would get your attention and force you to listen to me. Do you honestly think I would say the things I did in front of everyone if they weren't true? Do you honestly think I'd play such a cruel joke on someone? Especially you? George and I have pranked just about everyone in Gryffindor, everyone except for you; you're special, Hermione, and I could never do that to you."

She blinked at him, at a loss for words. He dropped her hand and brought his own hands up to cradle the back of her neck, his fingers getting tangled in her soft, riotous curls and his thumbs softly brushing over her jaw. He tilted her head back a little and looked down into her wide eyes.

"Please say you believe me, I don't know what else to do. Why do think I've been flirting with you for the last month? I couldn't take it anymore; I had to do something about it so I stopped holding back my feelings for you and instead embraced them."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, pulling herself together and gathering her wits.

"I believe you," she said quietly. Fred let out a sigh of relief. "And since you've made a confession in front of not only the students but the professors, too, I feel I must make a confession, too," she spoke. He held his breath. "I love you."

Fred went lightheaded and would've fallen over if it weren't for Hermione bringing her hands up to gently clasp around his wrists, pulling him back to reality. Her eyes fluttered open.

"And I have for a while," she confessed.

"Since when?" He asked, feeling confused, elated, curious, too many emotions to pinpoint and name.

"Summer, last year. During the walk to the port key that would take us to the World Cup Final, I tripped and fell down the hill. When everyone laughed and made fun of me, you didn't. You helped me back to my feet and seeing my jacket being wet, you gave me your coat so I wouldn't be cold."

He blinked slowly; he'd completely forgotten about that, but it had happened. He remembered it. She'd been walking with Ginny a little ways behind them and to prevent herself from falling when she slipped, Ginny had grabbed onto Hermione to steady herself but in doing so had knocked Hermione off balance, causing her to slip and fall down the hill, rolling to a stop on the ground and her coat being soaked by the puddle she'd landed in. Whilst everyone had burst into laughter, he'd climbed back down the hill and helped her to her feet and seeing her coat being wet, he'd removed his own and gave it to her as he already had a jumper on beneath and didn't really need it. He supposed that had been the first kind act he'd done for her.

"After the attack at the World Cup I suffered with nightmares, and once you came downstairs in the middle of the night and seeing me sitting in front of the fire, you just sat with me in silence so I wouldn't be alone."

He'd forgotten about that, too. It had been the first time he'd seen her cry and even back then before his crush on her had developed, he'd seen her changing into a beautiful young witch.

"You were the first person in a long time to show me kindness, to not expect anything of me and to not expect anything in return. I suppose that's when my liking of you developed, but given our circumstances, I knew nothing would ever come of it, so I saw no point in acknowledging it, and then Viktor came along. And I admit, my liking of you never wavered but being with Viktor just made it easier. And then you started acting differently this year and I wasn't sure what you were doing, but you were standing up for me and taking care of me even though I didn't know I needed it. You did all those things to Ron, didn't you?"

"Yeah," he shrugged, seeing no point in denying it. "I warned him to stop upsetting you and he didn't take it seriously."

"And the Slytherins?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "You were worried they'd make fun of you for Ron's comments so I made sure they were otherwise distracted until they forgot about it."

"And, Seamus? You've seemed to have changed your attitude towards him since coming back."

"Terry Boot and McLaggen, too. They've all got a thing for you so George has been helping to run interference."

"I don't know how to respond to that," Hermione admitted.

Fred opened his mouth to respond but was soon interrupted.

"Mr. Weasley!"

Fred winced before reluctantly letting go of Hermione and taking a step back from her, putting an innocent smile on his face as McGonagall approached him.

"Good morning, Professor, I trust you enjoyed your morning entertainment," he said.

McGonagall scowled at him and came to a stop in front of him, giving his size she had to look up at him, tilting her head back.

"What was the meaning of that display?"

Fred grinned at her. "You see, Professor, that was my final plan of action as Hermione truly made me work hard for her affection." He sent a quick wink to Hermione and she blushed and looked away when McGonagall turned her eyes towards her. "I had a point to prove and it was the only way I knew she'd listen to me. So, detention with Filch at the usual place? Seven o'clock?" Fred said.

McGonagall blinked in surprise. "Do you wish for a detention?"

"Not really, I would rather spend this evening taking Hermione on our first official date, but I understand what I did was wrong and I'm ready to accept my punishment without argument," he responded.

McGonagall blinked once more, shaking her head lightly and clearing her throat. "This is my last warning, Mr. Weasley, if you show behaviour such as that again, you'll have detention for the remainder of the school year. Do I make myself clear?"

It was Fred's turn to blink in surprise, having expected a string of detentions for what he'd done. A smile pulled at his face. "Perfectly, Professor. No more confessing my love for all of Hogwarts to hear."

McGonagall's mouth twitched, surprising him.

"Very good, Mr. Weasley," she said before she turned on her heel and walked away. They both heard her muttering, "Perfectly suited," to herself.

Looking to each other in surprise, they were distracted when something rained down on them and they both looked up, seeing magical mistletoe now hanging above them. Fred turned his eyes to McGonagall's retreating back, seeing her slipping her wand back into her robe pocket and his mouth twitched at the corners. Who knew McGonagall was a sucker for love?

Turning back to Hermione, she was still looking up at the mistletoe in confusion.

"Where'd that come from?" She questioned.

"Doesn't matter," he responded.

His hands reached up to cradle the back of her neck and he tilted her head up gently, locking his gaze with hers. He lowered his head towards hers and she tilted her own a little more and stretched up on her tiptoes to meet him, making him smile. His eyes closed as their mouths touched, her soft, plump lips moulding against his own. Hermione let out a sigh and her hands reached up to tangle in his hair, pulling herself more firmly against him and he allowed one hand to fall to the small of her back, keeping her to him.

At the young age of seventeen, Fred knew he had found the witch for him.

~000~000~000~

**Eight months later...**

"Hey, George!"

Fred looked over the railing on the staircase he'd been walking up, intending to get onto the overhead balcony so he could search for Hermione. The moment he saw the shocking red hair of Ron and Ginny he knew she was there, too.

"I'm Fred, he's George," Fred said, pointing to George who was a few steps higher than him.

"How much for this?" Ron asked, holding up one of their products.

"Five galleons," both he and George answered without missing a beat.

"But I'm your brother," Ron replied with a scowl.

Fred and George looked to each other. "Ten galleons," they corrected, both chuckling as Ron glared at them.

"You should've been nicer to Hermione at school. I know you went back to treating her like rubbish as soon as I left."

"How'd you know that? You haven't seen her since you left," Ron said.

That wasn't exactly true as Fred had visited Hermione in the hospital after she'd been nearly killed by Dolohov, he hadn't left her side all night, not even when they threatened him with security, and he spent all night watching over her as she slept, plotting Dolohov's demise.

Four weeks after that, she'd been well enough to leave her house and had come to Diagon Alley where she spent the day with him and George at the shop, helping them with the stocking of the shelves and making a start on decorating the flat above, which they'd already moved into. A week after that, she'd visited once more and done much the same before they laid on the couch together and Fred read _Hogwarts, a History_ out loud to her. Two weeks after that she'd told her parents she was staying at The Burrow for the weekend, when in reality she'd stayed with him at the flat. And that weekend hadn't gone to plan with Hermione having caught the flu and Fred had been the perfect boyfriend and took care of her. He hadn't seen her since, but they'd written to each other at least three times a week when he left Hogwarts, and more frequently since the battle at the Department of Mysteries and Hermione's injuries.

"We do write to each other, Ron. She's my girlfriend and I do love and care for her, of course, I want to know all about her summer and if she's alright."

Ron pulled a face as he always did when he was reminded of him and Hermione being together. Fred wondered if he'd ever get over it.

Leaving his brother behind, he walked up the rest of the steps, looking out at the crowd below until his eyes landed on a head of riotous curls that he loved so much. A smile pulled at his mouth when he saw her by the Love Potion section and he quickly made his way down the stairs and over to her.

"Plan on stealing a wizard's heart?"

Hermione startled and whipped around to face him, bringing her hand up to her chest as if it would stop her heart from escaping and she took a calming breath. Putting the potion vial back on the display, she turned her attention back to him, a smile pulling at her face.

"Is that not what us witches are known for?" She asked.

"I've gotta say, I don't think you'd need a potion for that."

"No?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I've got it on good authority that you already hold the heart of another and you do so without the aid of magic and potions."

"Really?"

"Really," he nodded, a smile pulling at his mouth and she laughed at him. He reached out and pulled her into a hug and she went willingly. "Hiya, Love, how you feeling?"

"Absolutely fine," she answered, reaching up to give him a peck on the lips but after being away from her for so long it wasn't enough for him, so he shamelessly buried his hands in her hair and snogged her into a tizzy, right in the middle of the shop with customers milling around.

He pulled back from her and saw her breathing being heavy, her eyes glassy and her lips a little more red and swollen, he felt proud of himself. Looking over Hermione's shoulder, he saw the group of teenage witches staring between him and Hermione with wide eyes and their mouths hung open.

"It's results guaranteed, ladies," Fred nodded to the potion, sent them a wink and took Hermione's hand in his, dragging her through the crowd and towards the back room, pulling her behind the velvet curtain and into the corridor that held the potions lab, workroom, storage room and the staircase that led up to the flat.

"You wanna stay for a while and cuddle?" He asked her, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

She seemed to be having trouble deciding whether to laugh at him or roll her eyes, so she did both.

"Not this week," she replied.

He quickly caught onto her meaning and nodded. "Cramps? Backache?"

"Not at the moment. I'll never get used to you so willingly and openly asking me these questions, or just talking about it in general," she commented.

He shrugged his shoulders. "So, you wanna stay and cuddle," he repeated, but changed the way he spoke it.

"You've a really busy shop floor out there, Fred, you can't leave George to do it all by himself."

"Fine, are you staying at The Burrow?"

"I was going to head over on Monday, spend the week with them before school starts, but my parents are going away this evening to a conference and I don't see the point of me staying at home on my own, so I was going to go home and grab everything and go to The Burrow early."

"Or you can stay here for the weekend and then go to The Burrow on Monday, we won't see each other until Christmas once you leave for school," Fred said. "We're open on Saturdays so I'll be working, but Sunday I'm all yours."

"I suppose I do like the sound of that," she said, smiling when he pulled her closer to him and settled his hands on the small of her back.

"I'll even make you breakfast in bed, pancakes and waffles."

"I'm so grateful you've got your mother's talent for cooking, I'm pants."

"I know," he said, referring to the road kill she'd tried to feed him several weeks ago. She didn't take offence, she couldn't really. She was that bad a cook even she knew it and couldn't deny it. "I'm sure I've got some of your favourite muggle chocolate in the cupboard, too."

"You spoil me," she sighed.

"Is that a yes?"

"You knew it was the moment you mentioned cuddles," she said and he chuckled. She really did like to cuddle. He'd come to think of her like a teddy bear.

"Alright, you go home and come back around closing time and I'll have a bubble bath waiting for you."

"You're perfect," she sighed, reaching up to place a kiss to his mouth and pulling away from him, throwing a 'love you' over her shoulder and disappearing from view.

~000~000~000~

**One year later...**

Fred had known something was wrong the moment Hermione's little otter made an appearance, and so he stood waiting for her by the floo, not long after he'd just closed up the shop. He knew it was the night before they were all expected at The Burrow, as the following day they would be finalising the extraction plan for Harry, and on the evening they would be carrying it out. Hermione and Fred had already planned on staying at the flat, it being one of the last few times that would be together for Merlin knew how long, especially since Hermione hadn't been able to keep her secrets from him and so he knew of her plan to leave with Harry and Ron.

Despite not wanting her to go and him wanting to keep her safe, he knew it was something she had to do. He knew the importance her mission held and wouldn't have been able to stop her from going even if he tried to. Once they retrieved Harry, Bill and Fleur's wedding would be next on the list and after that, he knew they planned on leaving not long after, so he wanted to spend as much time as possible with her. But him receiving a Patronus hadn't been a part of the plan.

The floo roared to life and he was quick to catch Hermione when she stumbled out of the fireplace, straight into his arms and sobbing loudly. The moment she knew it was him she clung to him tightly and he held her to him.

"I did it! I took their memories!" She wailed.

This was part of the plan he knew she'd been on the fence about, having made a list of pros and cons to help her make a decision. It seemed she'd gone for the affirmative.

Lifting her into his arms, he took them straight to his bedroom, laid her down on the bed, took her shoes off and climbed on behind her, wrapping her up in his arms and holding her to him as she cried.

"When this is all over, we'll get them back. I promise," Fred whispered to her.

~000~000~000~

**The next day...**

The next day Hermione and Fred had floo'd to The Burrow, ignoring the narrowed, suspicious gaze of Mrs. Weasley that met them as they stepped into the living room together. Hermione barely left his side all day and while people noticed, they didn't care enough to broach the subject which Fred hadn't been happy about. Sometimes it seemed like he was the _only_ one to love and care for her.

When the evening came and they arrived at The Dursley's, Hermione perked up a little when she saw Harry. Just before they took the PolyJuice Potion, he pulled her to him and kissed her until they were both breathless, ignoring the disapproving stare of Moody and the disgusted looks from Harry and Ron.

"Be careful," they muttered to each other.

Before he knew it, he was back at The Burrow, in his old room and lying on his old bed, refusing to sleep as he watched George sleeping on the bed opposite him, his head bandaged and blood spots had seeped through.

He'd never been so afraid in his life. He'd almost lost his twin! And now he refused to sleep, not wanting to do so in case something happened in the night and George needed him. Fred was impossibly grateful that he had Hermione with him, her being the only thing that was keeping him sane.

He didn't have to worry that she saw him as being weak, or pathetic or ridiculous. He knew she understood and he knew she cared; she cared for him and she cared about George, getting up from the bed every fifteen minutes to check on his vitals and ensuring the potions were doing what they were supposed to be doing.

Fred had always known that Hermione was the witch for him, but her actions that night only cemented his decision to go through with his plan. After climbing back into the bed behind him, she held him all night as they both stayed awake and watched over George.

~000~000~000~

**Nine months later...**

Fred was aware of the noises around him; the cries of pain, the sounds of anguish and loss and heartbreak, the sounds of healing charms being chanted, and the sounds of singing and cheers of joy and victory. He latched onto them, hoping to distract himself from the pain.

Laying on the hard, stone ground and feeling his entire body screaming in pain, he closed his eyes and pulled thoughts of Hermione to the forefront of his mind. He'd only caught glimpses of her during the battle and from what he could remember; she'd been a beautiful avenging angel. Covered in mud and dirt and blood and sweat, no one could convince him otherwise. He'd tried his best to get to her, but his every attempt had been blocked by someone drawing him in to a duel and he was so glad Hermione had never gone easy on him when they were duelling in the D.A meetings, it helping him to become a better dueller and helping him with picking up new techniques and tricks to use against others.

His final attempt to get to her had been the worst, and he'd been so lucky, too. His life had flashed before his eyes and he'd been terrified of what he'd seen. He'd come so close to death he wasn't sure how to cope, but he knew that once he had Hermione back in his arms and safe, he'd be alright.

When the explosion had rung out, the spells that had collided had thrown him off in the opposite direction, pushing him away from the falling wall and preventing him from being crushed to death, but he'd still slammed against the opposite wall so hard that now he could barely move for the pain. Luckily, Percy had been alright, too, his injuries not being as severe and allowing him to get back into the fight. The two Death Eaters they'd been up against hadn't been so lucky and had both died instantly.

Hearing the cheers brought him some comfort, knowing that the battle had been won and the war was over. But where was Hermione? Was she safe? Injured? Merlin, no, she wasn't dead. He couldn't and wouldn't believe that.

Sudden sobs drew him from his thoughts and he felt the presence of several others, even with his eyes closed he knew it to be his family and the sobs were that of his mother's. Rolling his eyes beneath his closed eyelids, and thanking Merlin that the Pain Relief was slowly starting to kick in, he opened his mouth to talk.

"Hold off on the funeral arrangements, I'm not dead yet," he muttered.

"FRED!"

"Ow, I'm already in pain, I don't need a headache, too," he replied. "Mum, please stop crying, I'm fine, well you know, except for the fact I'm not fine, but still, I'm fine."

"That's my Freddie," he heard George say, feeling his hand come up to gently press against his shoulder.

"FRED!"

He'd know that voice anywhere.

"I know you've just discovered I'm still alive, but would you mind giving me a moment with my beautiful girlfriend? I haven't seen her in almost a year."

He heard his mother mutter about 'priorities' before he heard their footsteps moving away from him and he felt Hermione kneel down beside him, her hand hovering over his face, unsure if touching him would hurt him. Forcing himself to open his eyes, he blinked several times trying to get used to the light he was exposed to and his vision soon cleared, revealing Hermione looking down at him, tears falling down her dirt and blood smudged face.

"I'm alright, Love," he said, giving her a weak smile. "Nothing a kiss won't fix."

Giving a laugh-cry Hermione lowered her head and pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth, then one to his nose, one on his forehead and one on each of his cheeks, pulling back from him and her hand gently wrapping around his.

"See, I'm all better now, your kisses have healing properties."

"Liar," she replied, lifting her other hand and brushing his hair back from his face. He turned his head, leaning into her touch and despite the pain it caused, he didn't regret it.

"I was so worried about you," Hermione said quietly.

"I was perfectly safe at the old hag's cottage," he replied and Hermione snorted at him. "You're the one that was running around, attracting trouble and danger everywhere you went. You just can't help yourself can you?"

"Afraid not, do you still love me?"

"Danger and trouble are my middles names,"

She chuckled. "And here I thought it was Gideon."

"I feel wounded, you don't know me as well as I thought you did. Maybe I should break up with you."

"Oh?"

"What the hell, we both know I wouldn't last five minutes without you," Fred said. "I have something for you; it's in my left robe pocket."

Frowning slightly, Hermione leaned over and dug into his pocket and sure enough, there was something there. Pulling it out and holding it in her palm, she eyed the small velvet box in front of her.

"Open it," Fred instructed.

She opened the box, her eyes landing on the ring that sat in the centre. It was simple, a white gold band that sat a single sapphire, her favourite gemstone. Her eyes flew to him.

"I've a confession," Fred said, keeping his gaze locked with hers and seeing that tears were filling her eyes once more. "I bought that your sixth year. I'd intended on asking you at Bill's wedding but never had the chance. I've carried it with me every day since, hoping and waiting for the day you finally came back to me."

A tear fell from her eye. "I've a confession, before leaving I stole several of your shirts." A snort fell from him; he knew he hadn't lost them. "I wore one to bed every night and imagined you were with me, keeping me safe and protecting me. I've known since the day you dropped out of Hogwarts that you were the one for me and that I wanted to someday marry you," she said, her tears falling more freely.

He ignored the pain and smiled at her, doing his best to give her hand a gentle squeeze.

"So, Miss. Granger, the witch I love more than anything else in the world, will you marry me?"

She wiped away her tears and a smile pulled at her mouth. "I suppose so, seeing as you're the wizard I love more than anything else in the world," she answered, lowering her head to press a gentle kiss to his mouth.

"We marry as soon as I'm all healed, agreed? I don't want to not be your husband any longer than necessary. If you choose to come back to school to graduate once it's been repaired, I'll support you, but you'll be coming back a married woman. If you choose to go straight into employment and not bother with graduating, you'll do that as a married woman, too."

"Agreed," she nodded, pressing another kiss to his mouth. "I'm not coming back," she told him. "I can't, after everything that's happened here I can't face it, and I can't bear to be separated from you for such a long time as my being at school. Not again. Once The Ministry's back on its feet, I'll take my NEWTs there and then decide what I want to do in regards to a career. In the meantime, I'm going to focus on getting you better, getting married and I'll help with the shop."

"You really are perfect," Fred said.

"You're the only one that thinks so," Hermione replied, pulling back long enough to pluck the ring from the box and slipping it onto her ring finger, smiling when it fit perfectly.

"Alright, you've had long enough, stop hogging him," George said, coming up beside them and he was followed by the rest of The Weasley Clan.

"Hermione, do you want to tell them?" Fred said.

Hermione smiled and looked towards her soon to be official family, all of them looking at her expectantly.

"We're getting married," she said, a smile on her face and lifting her hand to show them her ring.

"Married!" They chorused in surprise.

"Married," Fred confirmed.

"And as soon as Fred's all healed, too."

"Are you pregnant?" Mrs. Weasley asked with narrowed eyes.

Hermione had to stop herself from rolling her eyes, Fred didn't bother. "Obviously not, we've been apart for nine months, if I were I would've already had the baby by now. Unless you think I've cheated, in which case who was it with? Harry or Ron?"

Mrs. Weasley opened her mouth and closed it again. "Married, right," she nodded. "We'll start planning as soon as we get home."

~000~000~000~

**Eight years later...**

Weasley's Wizards Wheezes was as loud, crowded and chaotic as ever, just the way Fred and George Weasley liked it. Hermione didn't understand how they could hear themselves think with all the noise. No, she much preferred the quietness of her office at The Ministry of Magic.

Standing up on her tiptoes she did her best to find her targets, but as she'd predicted she was unsuccessful. Sighing to herself, she moved closer to the counter and came up beside Verity, an amused smile pulling at the older witch's face as she recognised what Hermione was about to do, after all, she saw it happen at least once a week and had for several years now.

Using the little stool by the side of the counter, Hermione climbed up on top of the surface so she was able to see over the heads of the crowd of shoppers. Lifting her wand above her head, Hermione shot off a series of red sparks, gaining the attention of the shoppers, all of them quieting down and coming to a standstill as they turned to face her.

"Hi, I'm sorry to interrupt your shopping, but I was wondering if you might be able to help me. I don't suppose any of you have seen two little boys, have you? Dark red hair, turquoise coloured eyes and about this big," she said, holding her hand up to her hip.

"Right here!" Several shoppers called out, holding their hands up so Hermione could see their positioning, and with this, she was able to send Levitation Charms in their direction.

Loud laughter filled the entire shop as two little boys were lifted from the ground and levitated over towards her, them being gently lowered onto the counter on either side of her. Hermione didn't bother giving them disapproving looks; they did this at least once a week.

"Thank you, and how about a little girl? Brown curly hair, also has turquoise coloured eyes and is about this big," she said, holding her hand not too far above her knee.

"Right here!" Several shoppers called once more, raising their hands.

Hermione cast yet another Levitation Charm and the shop filled with squeals and giggles as the little girl bobbed gently in the air as she was levitated over to Hermione. She plucked her out of the air and sat her on her hip.

"Hello, Love,"

Hermione looked down, seeing George giving her an amused grin and lifting both his hands to get a high-five from his nephews for pulling a prank on Hermione. If it was the same prank every week, he didn't care; he was still proud.

"Daddy!" The toddler squealed excitedly, reaching out for George with her hands.

"That's not your, Daddy, Sweetheart. That's Uncle George," Hermione explained, receiving an unhappy glance from the little girl. She turned back to the crowd, all of them still silent as she was still on top of the counter.

"Thank you for your help, and one last thing before I let you get back to your browsing. Has anyone seen the father of these little monsters? Shocking bright red hair, has two ears, about this big," she held her hand above her head to show he was quite a bit taller than her. "And is the most handsome Weasley Twin," she added.

"Oi!" George called, and at the same time as a voice shouted. "Right here!"

Hermione looked towards the voice, seeing her husband of eight years stood on the overhead balcony and grinning down at her, laughter erupting from the crowd before they went back to their shopping.

George and Verity helped down her boys and then helped her down from the counter, too, before she stepped out into the back room where Fred met them away from the crowd.

"Hey, Love, what are you doing back so early?" Fred asked his beautiful wife, leaning over to kiss her and laughing when his daughter soon pushed Hermione away from him, being jealous and also wanting a kiss.

Taking his little girl from Hermione, he pressed a kiss to her cheek and laughed when she hugged him tightly. She certainly was a daddy's little girl. At only three years old, Annie Weasley was proving to have her mother's stubbornness and her love for books. And she had soon learned how to wrap every male in the family around her little finger, more so himself and George. She was the spitting double of her mother, having her mahogany coloured riotous curls, her little button nose and heart-shaped face, but she had his eyes. Annie was the apple of his eye and he knew she was going to grow to be beautiful and there was nothing more he was dreading than the day boys took an interest in her.

Feeling a tugging at his robes, he looked down at his sons, twin boys being identical in every way. The twins were older than Annie, having not long since turned six years old, and they had long since shown they had the mischief gene. Just like himself and George, his twin boys, AJ and Chester, were proving to be little pranksters and all without the help, too. Sure, they knew what he did for a living and spent most of their time wandering about the shop when Hermione was at work having gone part-time as she wanted to spend more time with her family, but they were coming up with their own pranks all without Fred and George's influence. If Annie looked like her mother, then the twins certainly looked like their father. Whilst their hair was a darker shade of red than Fred's, they had his turquoise eyes, nose, mouth shape and cheekbones, too.

"I thought I'd come home early to celebrate," Hermione replied.

"Did you get another law overturned?" Fred asked, a proud look entering his eyes as it always did when Hermione informed him of all her hard work and effort having finally paid off each time she had outdated legislation abolished.

"Yes, but that's not what we're celebrating."

Fred raised an eyebrow when her face pulled into a wide smile and from her robe pocket she pulled out a carton of strawberries, her favourite muggle chocolate bar and a small carton of caramel fudge ice cream.

Fred blinked slowly, eyeing the contents in her hands closely before realisation hit him. They were foods she'd craved with her previous pregnancies. He lifted his eyes to her in surprise and she nodded.

"I've been feeling off for a couple of weeks now, and I cast the charm at work. I'm nine weeks along."

"You're pregnant?"

"I'm pregnant."

"Merlin!" Fred exclaimed, putting his little girl back on her feet and pulling Hermione into a tight hug, burying his face against her neck and peppering her skin with little kisses, making her laugh.

"I love you so much," Fred muttered.

"I love you, too," Hermione replied. He pulled away from Hermione to give her a kiss and they both turned to their children, intending to tell them the news, only one was missing.

"AJ, Chester, where's your sister?" Hermione asked them, her hands coming up to her hips.

They were smart enough to answer.

"She ran off," they both replied.

"Oh, for Merlin's Sake, she's definitely yours," Hermione told Fred before she stormed out of the back room.

He followed after her, making sure to take both of his sons' hands so they couldn't run off, too. When he entered onto the shop floor, it was to see Hermione stood on the counter and talking to the silent crowd.

"Sorry to bother you all again, but have you seen the little devil child that is my daughter? I'm sure you remember, brunette, turquoise eyes, this big," she gestured above her knee.

A smile pulled at Fred's mouth.

The best thing he'd ever done in his life was make a confession to the whole of Hogwarts.


End file.
